Awesome series of video's these makes me appreciate my Gsxr even more ! Love the V4 to ride but as a ownership experience seen to many grenade themselves.
I shared all of this on the RSV4 & Tuono V4 Owners group on Facebook. FYI. BTW, my Suzuki had similar issues to that RSV4. My GSX-R last motor lasted about 2,000 miles. My buddy had five CBR 1000RRs from the 2004-2006 era and one motor lasted 55K, the others less than 3K each. YMMV.
Thanks Steve. I hope they help people do some work on their own bikes. Sorry to hear about your gsxr motor. Was it stock? I also saw an 06 CBR motor explode but it had been recently modified.
I was told not to worry about adjusting the valves unless the bike is hard to start. And if it starts up just fine then don't mess with it. Would you agree? or should you still check periodically?
For any other brand thats good advice but it doesn't apply to the RSV4. Mine were borderline after only 2,000 miles. I know several others that were incorrectly assembled and needed all 16 valves adjusted after 500 miles. How many miles has your bike done? Has it ever had a valve adjust?
I just checked my wife's 2013 which has 9,000 miles on it. Nine were out of spec and were all over the place. When I measured the shims that were installed from the factory, they were all the same size! This is sloppy, sloppy, sloppy. Basically someone at the factory just didn't give a shit and/or a hangover.... I also found that the front bank cam timing was about 1.5 degrees off from what the service manual says it should be. The back was right on. 1.5 degrees isn't really a huge deal, but still it doesn't pass the service check. WTF
Glad you checked the clearances yourself. On the 2 bikes I've worked on I found similar problems. Its a great bike but they need to hire someone at the factory to make sure no one turns up to work drunk!
Dear Shaun, thank you very much for the rsv4 valve check video series. I am now working on my 2020 rsv4 rr. I noticed that you took off the flywheel and inserted something there to lock something (the timing gear or ?). Can I skip this by only locking the crank shaft from the clutch side? Eagerly waiting for your reply❤
In one of your videos you mention the starting time as an indication as to whether the valves need adjusting. I have an Aprilia RSV4 Factory 2019 with 3700 miles on it & I've noticed 1st start is always quick , subsequent starts after , within several minutes Kind of struggle , I've literally just checked this & it started straight away , killed the engine & the next start a noticeable amount of time , its also quite noisy in the engine department - this is my 1st Italian machine & some people have stated this is normal!? Thanks
Hello everyone hope you don't mind if I ask a question, what it is I own a Aprilia rs4 125 which is the smaller version of rsv4, I use it only on road and I did nearly 13000 miles so it's a time for a service I have no problems with the engine it runs great the torque is there and I have no problem reaching the top speed. Today I checked my valves clearance and all of them are under spec, but the point is that the clearance is even, what I mean is the tolerance for intake valves is 0.15 - 0.42 and my gap is 0.10 on both valves, the tolerance for outlet valves is 0.25 - 0.52 and my gap is 0.20 on both valves, should I get this adjusted ? Also can you tell me please how often should I rebuild a 4 stroke engine ? Regards.
Most engines have valve clearances that get smaller over time. With yours already smaller than the minimum tolerance its a good time to adjust them. Make sure you fix them soon - if the gap closes up completely the exhaust valves wont close all the way and may suffer heat damage when they cant touch the seats that have coolant passages right behind them. The rebuild period on a 4-stroke engine will vary based on use. If you keep the air filter clean and change the oil frequently it will last a lot longer than one that always has a dirty filter or allows dirt into the engine. And if you rev the motor hard all the time it will need more frequent maintenance. I've seen some 125cc 4-strokes perform well for 20 years with careful use and a lot of maintenance. And I've seen 250cc motors that were worn out and needed a new top-end after only 20 hours of use thanks to a leaky air filter.
It looks like the only thing you used to lock the crank into place was the long screw that you fashioned as an alternative to the Aprilia tool. A lot of the the threads on apriliaforum suggest that you also need to lock the primary gear on the clutch side as well. Did you lock the primary at all? Also, did you end up need to pull the fly wheel?
If you're careful and dont torque the crank/valvetrain too hard, the primary gear lock isn't necessary. I managed the job just fine without the lock. I pulled the flywheel but only to install a degree wheel which makes it quicker to find the timing mark in the crank.
I've heard the new 2017 models dont need the same level of maintenance as my 2013 motor. But having said that, when I get my next RSV4 I'm going to check the valve clearances before I take it to the track for the first time. If your Tuono will spend most of its time on the street I wouldnt worry about it until you get to the regular maintenance intervals
So I have a question about the cam sprocket. Once you lock the crank one of the bolts on the cam sprocket is not accessible any longer? Do you need to loosen that bolt fits before looking the crank?
The Tuono would be a fantastic street bike. However, dont expect it to be as tolerant of abuse as a Japanese machine. Stick to the maintenance schedule, keep it clean (cleaning is when you find things that need to be fixed) and dont be surprised if the RED TRIANGLE OF DEATH comes on and the dealer charges you $$$ just to find out what the problem is, and then charges you more $$$ to fix it. But overall, the Tuono is a fantastic machine.
Really interesting! I live in Austin and ride a 2016 Tuono Factory which has been great fun to ride in the Hill Country but not so great in stop and go city traffic. Any suggestions to smooth out the low speed performance?
Thats a difficult question. What final gearing are you using? Lowering the ratio to give better drive away from the lights can help. But then the bike gets buzzy at freeway speeds.
Shaun Nielsen the bike is in stock form but I feel like it's the intense engine braking that makes it hard to ride in stop and go traffic. Next time I'm in that situation I'll try a different mode and see if that helps.
Shaun Nielsen yes I have been riding in that mode and I've read that track and race modes have less engine braking so will try those out and let you know. Thanks for the advice, keep the great videos coming!
